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What next in primary care procurement?
28 April 2008
Since Lord Darzi’s recommendation that Primary Care Trusts
(PCTs) should press ahead with immediate reforms without waiting
for his final report, the DH has responded with an ambitious
procurement timetable for PCTs. An extra 100 GP practices and
150 health centres are required by the end of 2008. This is a
challenging but not unachievable target.
Each PCT must deliver a new “polyclinic style”
health centre. The poorest areas of the country have an added
challenge, with 100 GP surgeries required in the 25% of PCTs with
the lowest GP provision, ie an average of 2.63 new surgeries in
each of the 38 poorest PCTs.
These procurements will demand careful
planning and an understanding of the Public Contracts Regulations
2006.
Planning the process
A carefully designed plan will help each PCT
to meet its target. In planning the procurement the PCT should
consider:
- Developing a procurement team
- The team’s relevant expertise, organising best practice
training if needed
- Making use of DH’s tool kit and master procurement documents as
a starting point for each procurement which can be adapted to the
local requirements of each procurement
- Planning each stage of the process carefully
- After selection of the preferred bidder, how to progress to
commercial closure and signing of the contract
The Public Contracts Regulations
2006
It is important to understand the PCT’s
obligations under the Regulations:
- Procurements for Part B services ie medical services do not
require a full OJEU tender and this can give the PCT some
flexibility in setting its timetable
- Though absence of a requirement for a full OJEU tender can
cause confusion, in essence what is required is a transparent,
equal and non-discriminatory procurement
- Make use of the guidance offered in the EU Commission’s
communiqué of 2002, advising PCTs to:
- Consider how widely you advertise your procurement. Private
sector providers have the resources and inclination to challenge
decisions they feel they have been excluded from and alienating
such bidders could be detrimental to the commercial deal the PCT
can negotiate
- Consider the degree of relevance of the procurement to the
internal market
- Ensure compliance with EU Treaty principles
Therefore, whilst there are difficulties and a
tight timeframe, the task in hand is not insurmountable. What it
requires is an assessment of local needs and objectives and a
realistic assessment of the skill set of the procurement team. Help
is available from a variety of sources including DH, SHAs and the
private sector.
How we can help
Our public sector procurement team is
available to complement the PCT’s own team and can provide a
variety of services depending upon the requirements of the PCT and
the project. Examples of the types of assistance that could be
provided are:
- Our team is familiar with the running of similar procurements
and is available to run the process on the PCT’s behalf
- Assistance can be given in the drafting of key documents eg
advertisements, PQQs, ITTs, APMS contracts etc
- Assistance can be given with the management of the process and
dealing with bidder responses
- We can provide advice on the public consultation process and
the documentation required by it
- Our team is available to assist the panel in planning the
project, attending at bidder information days and reviewing
bids
- We can provide assistance with the drafting and negotiating of
contracts with the chosen provider
- We are able to provide you with a procurement project planning
toolkit implemented by some of our other public sector clients
- Our team can assist with financial closure of the project with
the selected provider
- Advice and assistance can be given, where required, in the use
of the DH national procurement tools
- Our team can provide training workshops or seminars for the PCT
tailored to your specific requirements
- Assistance can be provided in person, by email or by telephone
as required
Our team has a wealth of experience in working
with NHS bodies on procurement projects and we would be delighted
to work with you to explore ways in which we can assist you to surf
the Darzi procurement wave.
talk to us
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of aspects of the subject matter and does not provide comprehensive
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